Firefox Release Notes

Firefox 1.5 Beta 1 is a beta of our next major release of our award-winning Firefox Web browser.
More information about Firefox
is available.

Extensions installed under Firefox 1.0 may be incompatible and/or require updates to work with Firefox 1.5 Beta. Please report any issues to the maintainer of the extension. When you install Firefox 1.5 Beta all of your Extensions and Themes may be disabled until Firefox 1.5 Beta determines that either a) they are compatible with the Firefox 1.5 Beta release or b) there are newer versions available that are compatible. This is because Firefox changes from release to release and as such the ways in which some extensions integrate changes, meaning there can be problems when running an older extension with a newer version of Firefox. If you find that your favorite Extension or Theme has not been updated to be compatible with this release of Firefox, write the author and encourage them to update it.

All Systems

If you install Firefox 1.5 Beta on a multi-user system in an area in which there is restricted access privileges, you must run Firefox 1.5 Beta as a user with access to that location upon installation so that all initial startup files are generated.
If this is not done, when a user without write access to the install location attempts to start Firefox 1.5 Beta, they will not have sufficient privileges to allow Firefox 1.5 Beta to generate the initial startup files it needs to.

Software Update will not work if Firefox 1.5 Beta is installed to a location that you do not have write access to, since Software Update needs to replace or create files in this location.

Windows

When installing as a restricted access user on a shared machine into a location
that you can write to, there may still be negative side effects (default
browser/other keys not being set correctly). The browser should still function
however. When installing as a restricted access user do not
attempt to install over an installation in a restricted-access/shared location
as this may destroy that installation.

Firefox 1.5 Beta may hang when closing after viewing a PDF file in some older versions
of the Adobe Acrobat Reader plug in. If you experience this make sure you are
using the newest
version of the plug in.

Linux and Unix systems

If Firefox 1.5 Beta is installed to a location with spaces in the path, it
may not be able to set itself as Default browser and may keep prompting at
startup. The work around is to install into a path without spaces.

GNOME integration does not work properly with Fedora Core 3.
Users of Fedora Core 3 will need to download and install
linc-1.0.3-3.1.i386.rpm.
After installing the RPM, perform the following command in the directory you
installed Firefox 1.5 Beta into (you will need write permission):

touch .autoreg

The next time you start Firefox 1.5 Beta, GNOME integration should be functional.

Web Page Rendering

The Configuration Console (accessed by entering "about:config" in the Location bar and pressing Enter) gives advanced/experienced users direct control over Firefox's preferences. This system is for use by people who know what they are doing only, by changing a value incorrectly you may damage or destroy your
Firefox installation! Look to Help sites for handy preferences to tweak to customize Firefox further.

Troubleshooting

Poorly designed or incompatible Extensions can cause problems with your browser, including make it crash, slow down page display, etc. If you encounter strange problems relating to parts of the browser no longer working, the browser not starting, windows with strange or distorted appearance, degraded performance, etc, you may be suffering from Extension or Theme trouble.
Restart the browser in Safe Mode. On Windows, start using the "Safe Mode" shortcut created in your
Start menu or by running firefox.exe -safe-mode. On Linux,
start with ./firefox -safe-mode and on Mac OS X, run:

cd /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/MacOS/
./firefox-bin -safe-mode

When started in Safe Mode all extensions are disabled and the Default theme is used. Disable the Extension/Theme that is causing trouble and then start normally.

If you uninstall an extension that is installed with your user profile (i.e. you installed it from a web page) and then wish to install it for all user profiles using the -install-global-extension command line flag, you must restart the browser once to cleanse the profile extensions datasource of traces of that extension before installing with the switch. If you do not do this you may end up with a jammed entry in the Extensions list and will be unable to install the extension globally.

If you encounter strange problems relating to bookmarks, downloads, window placement, toolbars, history, or other settings, it is recommended that you try creating a new profile and attempting to reproduce the problem before filing bugs. Create a new profile by running Firefox with the -P command line argument, choose the "Manage Profiles" button and then choose "Create Profile...". Migrate your settings files (Bookmarks, Saved Passwords, etc) over one by one, checking each time to see if the problems resurface. If you do find a particular profile data file is causing a problem, file a bug and attach the file.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I do to help?

We need all the exposure we can get. Make it your mission to convert as many
of your friends, family members and coworkers as possible. If you're a student,
get it distributed at your college. Submit a story to
Slashdot and other news sites about the release. Make some noise on your
blog. Mass distribution via the Internet is possible -- look at Kazaa.
Spread the word!

I use another browser because...

If you're not using Firefox, tell the development team why. We read the
feedback at the Firefox
forums.

Why haven't you responded to the mail I sent you?

Use the forums. The
Firefox team reads them regularly. We all get a lot of email and your email may
get lost.

Lots of people. See Help->About Mozilla Firefox, Credits for a list of some of the people
who have contributed to Firefox.

Where's the Firefox source code?

A tarball of the 1.5 Beta 1 source code is available for
download. The latest development
code can be obtained by cvs.
Firefox-specific source is in "mozilla/browser", "mozilla/toolkit",
and "mozilla/chrome". Please follow the build instructions.

Where is the mail client?

Firefox works with whatever mail client is the default on your system.
However, we recommend Mozilla Thunderbird, our
next generation email client and the perfect complement to Firefox.

How do I spell Firefox? How do I abbreviate it?

Firefox is spelled F-i-r-e-f-o-x - only the first letter capitalized
(i.e. not FireFox, not Foxfire, FoxFire or whatever else a number of
folk seem to think it to be called.) The preferred abbreviation is
"Fx" or "fx".